Under the federal securities laws, a company that offers or sells its securities must register the securities with the SEC or find an exemption from the registration requirements. The federal securities laws provide companies with a number of exemptions. For some of the exemptions, such as Rule 506 of Regulation D, a company may sell its securities to what are known as accredited investors. The term accredited investor is defined in Rule 501(link is external) of Regulation D.

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